Christmas with the Bellamys
by Muse-icfan756
Summary: Matt takes his family to his mother's house for Christmas day. Supposed to be funny, but you might have gathered I'm not very good with humour haha.


**I really don't know what Matt's relationship with his Dad is, so I'm going with this.**

George slumped in his chair and picked up the day's newspaper, ignoring the sounds of Marylin cooking in the kitchen. There was nothing interesting in the news. All this bollocks about politicians and the debt crisis. He wasn't interested anymore. Matthew tended to tell him most of what he knew. Speaking of Matthew, there went the doorbell. He got up off the chair and walked to the door, opening it up.

"Don't you have a key?" George barked.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dad," Matt replied, rolling his eyes. George knew he would probably have had something colourful to say if his family weren't there.

"Hello, Mr Bellamy. It's nice to see you again," Kate greeted him, her blonde hair blowing across her face in the wind.

"Yes, well," George answered gruffly, "Nice to see you too." Matt glanced behind him and groaned.

"Mind letting us in Dad?" he asked. "It's pretty nippy out here." He nodded and stepped out of the way to let them in. A photographer nipped around the corner of the street to capture the family entering the house just before they closed the door behind them. Matt hung up Ryder's coat on the hook beside his and Kate slung her scarf over the stair banister. Marylin hurried out of the kitchen, her hands in oven gloves.

"Hello, hello!" she cried. "Merry Christmas!" She threw her arms around Matthew and he hugged her back, smiling. "Matthew, darling, have you grown?" Kate stifled a laugh as he sighed.

"No, Mum, I don't grow. I'm thirty-three," he told her.

"Goodness, you're getting so much older. Oh George, our boy's growing up!" He and Matt shared a withering glance and they shook their heads together. Kate took the boys into the living room with George whilst Matt followed his mother into the kitchen.

"You need any help with the cooking, Mum?" He placed the bottle of red he'd brought down on the kitchen counter.

"Oh, honey, that'd be lovely." She handed him some carrots and a chopping board. "I'm so behind schedule. I got up especially early to make sure everything was perfect but then I had to go out to the shops because I'd forgotten the gravy mixture and now everything has gone pear-shaped."

"Don't worry, Mum, it'll be fine." Matt began peeling the carrots.

"But I wanted to make everything perfect! Kurt and Goldie will be here any minute! They're celebrities, Matthew!" He gave an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, and so is Kate. Some websites have even been calling _me_ a celebrity. So, when did you last clean my room, Mum?"

"Oh, Matthew, I haven't had time, I meant to, I did, but I just didn't think you'd need me to so I went out with some friends and-" she babbled, getting all flustered over her unclean house. She'd spent a whole week doing housework, but it was never enough for her.

"Mum. Kidding. Calm down. I was just teasing you. You don't have to worry. Your cooking is always great anyway. I'm sure they'll like it."

"Thanks, sweetie."

In the living room, Kate was tending to Bing. She held her hand out to him and he gripped it tightly. She smiled softly at him and he stared back at her with those stunning blue eyes that were so similar to Matt's. She loved his eyes. They were beautiful, unique, captivating-just like Matthew himself. Ryder sat patiently beside his mother, and his stomach grumbled. George chuckled across the room and Ryder blushed to the roots of his blonde hair.

"So, tell me," he began, folding his newspaper and putting it on the coffee table, "how's LA these days?" Kate glanced up at him.

"Busy," she told him. "There are so many people around there. I think most of the residents are celebs and everybody else is either a tourist or a pap." He shook his head.

"When I went there, it wasn't so bad. Still a popular place, but it was mainly just for the sun."

"You've been?"

"Sure. I was in a band too, you know."

"Oh yes, I think I remember Matt saying something about that..." She didn't have any recollection of it at all.

The doorbell rang out shrilly and there was an, "I'll get it!" from the kitchen as they heard footsteps heading towards the front porch. A small breeze brushed their ankles through the door as Matt opened the door. They heard chatter at the door and another grumble from Matt before the door slammed shut.

"Ooh, it's lovely and warm in here!" she heard her mother's voice exclaim. A gruff, male voice agreed with her. Kate sighed and got up, tucking Bingham further under the blanket before heading to the door. "Kate, darling." Her mother wrapped her in a hug and Kate smiled at Kurt over her shoulder and he shook his head. Matthew took Goldie's coat and hung it up before showing them into the living room.

"Ooh, that's a lovely tree you've got in here!" Goldie admired the tree, which was decorated neatly with baubles that were almost as red and glittery as Matt's guitar. But not quite.

"Yes, it's a real one this year," Marylin explained from behind, and Goldie turned around with a start. "My other son Paul helped me with it."

"Mrs Bellamy, it's lovely to see you again."

"Please call me Marylin." Marylin noticed that Goldie didn't offer her own name. She tried to keep her face neutral as she caught Matthew's eye. He gave her a reassuring smile. He knew Kate's parents fairly well and he knew they were exactly the sort of people to be your typical celebrity. That didn't mean they had to act any different, but he'd had a sleepless night or two over how they would react to his mother's humble house. And not just over that.

"Dad, could you come here for a second please?" he asked quietly, edging out of the door as Marylin returned to the kitchen. George frowned and got up, putting his reading glasses on the side, and followed Matthew out of the door as Goldie and Kurt made themselves comfortable on the sofa beside Kate and Ryder.

"Yes, son?" he replied as they were out of sound-range, folding his arms.

"Listen, you need to be on good behaviour." Matthew gave him a stern look, his blue eyes that were so similar to Marylin's completely focused on him.

"What makes you think I wouldn't be?"

"Because you're grumpy already. I _know_ it's awkward for you to be here with Mum but, please, if you don't do it for my sake, do it for theirs'. This will be our first Christmas dinner as a proper family, all of us together. I don't want my son's first Christmas to go down as a failure because you spontaneously decide that Mum's cooking isn't as good as it used to be, okay?" George rolled his eyes and made a halo around his head. Matt nodded and went back to the kitchen to help out with the food.

Twenty minutes later, Matt rolled out the tablecloth and arranged the mats on the table. Marylin brought out her best cutlery on the table and they laid out everything that was needed. There were Christmas themed napkins, plenty of mats in the middle for the food and-

"Mum, why are there seven places?" Matt questioned. "You know Bing can't eat with us."

"Of course I know that! There are seven of us eating." she replied. He frowned and counted the names on his fingers. Kate, Ryder, Kurt, Mum, Dad, himself...who else was there?

The doorbell rang out suddenly and the conversation in the living room stopped.

_Who could it be?_ Matt wondered as he headed to the door. He flung it open and his eyes widened.

"Dom?" he cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Cheers, mate, good to see you," he laughed.

"We had our Christmas meal yesterday. I thought you were staying in London. What's going on?" His words came out in a rushed jumble and Dom struggled to understand it.

"Your Mum invited me over."

"He had nowhere else to go," Marylin said. She seemed to have developed a disconcerting habit of appearing behind people silently. "Poor Dominic. Christopher was with his rather large family so I invited him here. Can't face the poor boy being alone. Come in, Dominic." Dom grinned and wiped his shoes on the mat before slinging his leather jacket over the banister. Marylin beamed at him and Matthew rubbed his eyes in confusion. His mother had always loved Dominic. To her he was still an angel child. _If only she knew the things he got up to,_ he thought to himself. _There definitely would've been _somewhere_ for him to go._ He cursed his mind for even _thinking_ such a thing under his mother's room and followed them to the living room.

"Dom!" Kate greeted him cheerily. They exchanged a kiss on the cheek and he greeted her family. Curse Dom for being so charismatic. It wasn't that Matt had a problem with him, far from it, in fact, but he'd assumed this was just a family dinner. No wonder his Mum had been cooking so much. Matt sighed as his mother called,

"Dinner's ready." Kate tucked Bing under the blankets safely and kissed his forehead before following the family into the dining room, leaving the door open so she could hear him-just in case. He'd been a fairly good sleeper recently.

They settled in around the table. George picked up the carving knife as per usual, when Marylin put her hand on his arm. He looked down at it disgustedly and Matthew swallowed nervously.

"Why don't you let Matthew carve, dear?" she suggested. "After all, he _is_ a father now and he needs to be the head of a family." Dom looked over at Matt and chuckled at his panicked expression. Reluctantly, George handed the knife to Matt, who took it with shaky hands. He stood up and began carving the chicken, careful not to slip. Kate watched him and envisioned their future together. She didn't know it, but she had a silly grin plastered on her face. Dom watched her closely, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Matt finished carving and breathed out an audible sigh of relief. Goldie heard and giggled. He started dishing out the chicken, making sure to pile plenty on everybody's plates apart from Goldie's. Kate had said she was picky about food. Marylin dished up the vegetables. The potatoes were crisp and golden, but fluffy on the inside. There was a jug of gravy on a saucer and a light Yorkshire pudding each. George opened the bottle of red wine and proceeded to pour a bit in everyone's glass-except Ryder, of course. When everybody was satisfied with the food on their plates, they tucked their napkins into their laps.

"Merry Christmas, everyone," George announced. They raised their glasses and sipped the wine together. "Oooh, good choice, Matthew." Matt smiled and cut open a potato, when Marylin interrupted,

"Aren't you going to say Grace, Matthew?" Dom snorted and Matt pulled a face.

"What? Mum, I'm not religious!" he told her. He never had been. _None of them_ ever had been, so why start now? He couldn't even imagine what he would begin to say.

"Well, it just feels right, because it's a Christian holiday and all."

"Seriously? You're going there? Mum, I don't think that's really necessary."

"I'm Jewish," Goldie interjected. Marylin gave Matt a shocked glance, which he returned with an I-told-you-so expression. She shrugged.

"Fine, then," she sighed. "Tuck in." Matt caught a glimpse of his father smirking at her before he turned to his plat, watching the steam curl into the air. He put a bit of potato into his mouth and swallowed quickly, trying not to react to the burning.

"Hot," he breathed. He felt a nudge on his leg from Kate and almost choked on the wine he was drinking. Dom eyed him suspiciously.

"This is delicious," Kurt praised, somehow managing to still look 'celeb-like' whilst shovelling in peas.

"Absolutely fabulous," Goldie agreed, nodding her head. Marylin blushed. "And you did it all yourself?"

"Well, Matthew helped me a little bit and-" she told them honestly.

"Oh, not really, Mum. You did all the cooking and stuff," he interjected.

"No, honey, you did the chicken. It's _his own_ _chicken_, you know. He hand-reared it and then killed it and cooked it himself! That's my boy." Dom snorted as Matt shrank lower in his seat. Kate stroked his knee sympathetically and noticed her mother looked significantly paler.

"How...lovely," she said. She bit her lip and they ate in silence for a few minutes, aside from Ryder asking Kate to cut his chicken because it was tough.

"So," Dom began when his plate was half-empty, "what does everybody have planned for the holiday season?" Matt held back a laugh at his cheesy tone.

"Well, I was thinking of going to see Paul for a few days," Marylin replied thoughtfully, "and I have a day of shopping arranged with some friends. Probably do some gardening before the weather gets worse..." George rolled his eyes.

"The weather's already awful!" Kurt exclaimed. "How do you stand it here?"

"Well, I quite like it, to be honest. It's a proper season, y'know? Exactly what you expect from winter."

"Yeah, if you like sleet and rain and snow and sunshine in the same hour," George muttered grumpily. Marylin ignored him.

"And it can get quite nice in the summer. We've been on some _lovely_ summer holidays and because we live by the sea there's a nice beach. Matthew loved the beach when he was a child. I could show you some pictures if you want?" Matt groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Dom smirked at him.

"I don't think I've seen these pictures, Matt," he whispered. "What are you keeping from me?"

"I'm keeping lots from you," he hissed back, leaning across towards him so nobody could hear their conversation.

"Really? Like what? Is it saucy?"

"I tell you that stuff anyway." They both laughed quietly. George cleared his throat ostentatiously and they drew back awkwardly. Kate raised an eyebrow but Matt just shook his head with a smile.

They finished their dinner with a little bit of small talk, and then Marylin got up to get the pudding. She replaced the vegetable dishes with the pudding and Dom felt drool pool up in his mouth. It was a proper (sorry, p_w_oper) Christmas pudding, round and scattered with raisins. She took a match and struck it, watching the flame flicker on the end of the thin wooden stick. Then she held it to the pudding. It lit up immediately, the brandy making it extra flammable. Goldie drew back, stunned, and George rolled his eyes for what seemed like the fiftieth time that whole dinner. They blew out the fire and the pudding was left burnt. Dom licked his lips.

"Before we cut the cake, are we doing crackers?" Marylin asked. Matt reached beside him for the golden cracker that his mother had painstakingly picked out to match the pattern on the napkin. He held the other end out to Kate and received one end of Dom's. On the count of three, they all pulled. There was a loud _crack_ and Ryder clasped his hands over his ears. Kate chuckled and ruffled his hair. Matt looked down at his hands and realised he'd received the main part of both Dom and Kate's crackers. Dom and Kate's eyes met and suddenly the tension was tangible. Matthew coughed and laughed awkwardly to break the silence before handing Kate's cracker to her.

There was an awkward moment of silence around the table.

"Look, I got a yo-yo in mine!" Ryder cheered, breaking the ice unintentionally. Kate broke eye contact with Dom to smile down at him. They all took turns reading out the cheesy jokes and Matt enjoyed a private chuckle at his sarcastic father wearing a colourful paper hat.

"Who's up for pudding?" Marylin asked. There were nods all around the table. She cut the pudding into seven not-quite-equal pieces and put them in bowls before dishing them out amongst the people at the table. Matt dribbled white sauce over his pudding and passed the jug to Dom. He cut in a put a piece in his mouth. Like always, his mother had cooked it perfectly. She had nothing to be worried about- at least, not in his mind.

Ryder bit into it and frowned before screwing up his nose. Kate glanced down at him anxiously and whispered to him, hoping that Marylin wouldn't notice.

"What's the matter?" she inquired.

"It tastes funny," he moaned. She shushed him a little bit.

"It tastes lovely, Ryder." He shook his head. It was probably the brandy. Maybe that wasn't so good for him. "Just try a little bit more." She didn't want Marylin to get upset after all the hard work she'd put into the meal.

There was a small wail and everyone froze. Kate was still talking to Ryder, so Matt quickly ate the last bite of his pudding, slid out of his seat and went into the living room. Bing had woken up and he was all alone. Matt pulled back the blankets and picked him up, cradling him in his arms.

"Shhhhh," he murmured. "Shhh, it's okay. Daddy's here." Bing snuggled up towards him, fisting his hands in Matt's soft jumper. Matt stroked his wispy blonde hair, his other hand supporting his lower back so that he wouldn't get uncomfortable, and sat down on the sofa. The soothing motion of his hand caring for Bing was making him drowsy, and he was full of delicious food from dinner. He felt his eyes begin to droop as Bing settled into his arms.

Five minutes later, Kate excused herself from the dinner table to find out why Matthew hadn't come back yet. She passed through the doorway to the living room and stopped suddenly, smiling at the sight before her. Both of them were fast asleep on the sofa, Matt with his had resting against the armrest, one arm wrapped around Bing who was curled up on his chest. She tiptoed over and kissed them both on their foreheads before heading back to the dining room.

"They're sleeping," she told them with a smile, directing it specifically at Dom. He stiffened.

"Oh, isn't that lovely?" Goldie squealed. "Is he a good father, Kate, darling?"

"He's a wonderful father. Right, Ryder?" Ryder nodded.

"Matt plays with me when Mummy's busy. And he buys her presents and stuff," he added. Marylin held a hand to her heart.

When the _clinks_ of spoons scraping bowls had died down, Marylin got up and collected the bowls before taking them out to the kitchen. Kate followed her out and noticed her start to fill a sink with warm water.

"Don't you have a dishwasher?" she asked. Marylin shook her head.

"I prefer to do everything by hand. Much more reliable."

"Oh, please let me help you, then! There's so much to wash up. If I'd known I would've made sure there was something else I could do."

"Oh, you don't need to do that, dear. I do it every Christmas." Nevertheless, Kate picked up a drying towel from the hooks on the counter and stood beside the draining board. They started a small chain; Marylin washed the plate and put it in for the rinse, then Kate took it out of the rinse, dried it and palced it on the clean counter beside her. She had no idea where anything went in this house. They worked side by side quietly, occasionally exchanging a small smile somewhere along the line, but otherwise just getting things done.

George started folding the tablecloth and putting it away in the cupboards. Kurt stood by with his arms folded, watching him closely.

"So, you were in The Tornadoes, yeah?" Kurt began. George nodded, too preoccupied with clearing the table to answer properly. "I used to listen to some of that."

"Oh really?" he asked, not very interested.

"Yeah. You did that Telstar thing, didn't you?"

"Yep."

"So...did you teach Matthew guitar?"

"No."

"Oh. I just thought that, maybe, because you're both guitarists..."

"No." Kurt shifted awkwardly, his attempt at starting a conversation with Mr Bellamy turning out to be a big failure.

"So, what do you do now?"

"I'm a plumber."

"Oh. That's...nice."

"No, it's not." Kurt swallowed awkwardly. After a few more moments of silence, he turned and headed back to the living room to see his wife. George shook his head.

Ryder sat in the middle of the floor entertaining himself with his yo-yo. Goldie knelt down beside him, showing him how it worked. Dom Stood over Matt and smirked down at him. He considered pulling out his phone and putting a picture on Twitter. The fangirls would like that, right? He reached into his pocket, but something stopped him. Matt wouldn't want that on Twitter. He was trying to protect his son from exposure, not advertise him. Dom sighed and instead settled for poking Matt in the stomach. He jerked up and his eyes flew open before they narrowed. He checked on Bing, who had opened one blue eye, and looked up at Dom's cheeky grin before rolling his eyes and stretching. He sat up and held Bing in his lap still, watching Goldie and Ryder. Kurt came in and sat down, and Dom sat down beside him, the three men just waiting. Matt wanted to go and help in the kitchen, but he didn't want to leave Bing. He heaved him up closer towards him and patted his back, Bing's head resting on his shoulder. Kate had dressed him in a Christmas jumper that even _he_ admitted was ugly and it was starting to get a bit itchy. Matt scratched his neck and Dom mirrored him absentmindedly. Goldie glanced up and noticed it, frowning.

Matt draped his hand over the armrest and found Kate's handbag. He rifled through and pulled out the sleek camera before pointing it at Dom. He grinned, teeth all sparkly and white, and the camera caught his picture. He took a picture of Ryder and Goldie together and then took one of the tree with its glittering lights. Maybe he could make a photo album and give it to Bing when he grows up. He could just see it; a seven year old Bing sat beside him, Matt pointing out the pictures of his first Christmas. Yeah. That was probably one of the best ideas he'd ever had.

After a while, Kate and Marylin came into the room. Kate gave Matt a knowing smile and he raised an eyebrow, confused. She sat on the floor in front of him because there wasn't any room on the sofa and he stroked her hair with his free hand. Marylin sat in the armchair.

"Are we all ready then?" she glanced around at the family.

"What about Dad?" Matt prompted.

"Yeah, nice of you to remember me, Marylin," George announced, walking in and looking for a seat. Dom got up awkwardly and sat down on the floor. George flopped into his previous seat and the sofa shook. Matt squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them. Marylin was reaching towards the tree. Underneath were several neatly wrapped presents. Some of them had silver paper with snowflakes on, a handful were wrapped in plain gold paper, and the rest of them were sparkly and red. It was obvious who wrapped which ones. Marylin picked up a silver package and read the label before handing it to Ryder. His eyes widened and he attempted to pull of the wrapping. However, he was struggling a bit more than he'd expected. The Bellamy's chuckled. Marylin had a tendency to stick things down a little bit _too_ carefully. Kate helped him to cut through a layer of paper, only to find another layer underneath. Marylin gave a secret sort of laugh.

"And then you'll get to the bottom and find it was just a game of 'Pass-the-Parcel,'" Kurt joked. They laughed at Ryder's expense.

Finally he unwrapped the present. Inside was one of those spinning Beyblade toy things. Ryder grinned and put it down before scrambling to his feet and throwing his arms around Marylin. She seemed a bit bewildered but hugged back after a second. Matt let out a sigh of relief and Kate squeezed his hands.

"Mum, can you help me open it?" Ryder asked Kate.

"Why don't we wait until we're finished, honey? Then everyone can open them at the same time afterwards," she suggested. Ryder reached under the tree and picked up one of the gold packages. He read the label and then shakily took it over to George. George frowned and opened it up easily. Inside was a big fat book on fishing. He looked up and around with a small, obviously fake smile on his face.

"Happy Christmas, mate," Kurt said. George thanked him and began to flip through the book. Matt bit his lip and Dom sniggered. Marylin nudged George and he grunted at her before reaching under the tree. He pulled out a present that was wrapped in blue and peered at the label before handing it to Matt. They both frowned, but when Matt read the label he turned to Dom and cleared his throat.

"I think...I think, y'know, I'll probably open this later," he decided and set it on the side. Dom sniggered at him.

"Why?" he asked innocently.

"I...I...I just think it'd be better if...us three...the band...if we all opened them...together. Um." And that was the extent of his excuse. Kate looked up at him and eyed him warily, but he shook his head and swallowed nervously. Why did he care so much? Because it was Dom. And that meant that it could be _anything_.

Matt pulled out a glittery red package and handed it to Marylin. She beamed at him and opened it up to reveal a soft scarf she'd been admiring for a while.

They all took turns opening the gifts. When it got to Kate's gift from Matt, he stole it from her hands.

"Hey!" she cried playfully as he snuck it into her bag. "What are you doing with _my_ present?"

"It wasn't supposed to be there," he told her honestly.

"Well, why not?"

"I'm saving it for later." He winked at her and she giggled. Dom stiffened and gritted his teeth. He'd also been forced to get her a present. And the worst thing was that he was so good at acting she still hadn't figured out how much he resented her. She thought they were _friends_.

Kate hung Bing's 'First Christmas' bauble up on the tree, but Marylin made her promise to take it home with her when the day was over. George slumped grumpily in the armchair, being the only one to take off the silly paper hat from the crackers.

"Is anyone up for games?" Marylin asked. Ryder cheered and George groaned, clapping his hand to his forehead. "Kate?"

"I think I'll pass, thanks, Marylin," she replied. "I'm still full from that delicious dinner." Matt's mother blushed.

"Goldie? Kurt?" Kurt shrugged.

"What were you thinking of playing?" he wondered.

"Can we play my new game?" Ryder asked. He'd been given a game of 'Frustration!' and was desperate to try it out. Matt yawned sleepily, his sleep having been disturbed before.

"Yeah, sure, I'll play with you, mate. Anyone else playing?" Dom and Marylin nodded. Ryder pulled off the protective seal from his game and they set it up together on the floor. Dom shifted awkwardly, his knees pressing into the uncomfortable floor. Matt adjusted his position and Hugged Bing closer to his chest before closing his eyes and slowly drifting off into a nap.

When he awoke, the tension in the room had increased immensely. Marylin and George were bickering over some petty thing in the 'Frustration!' game, which, somehow, was still ongoing. Kate had apparently gone to make tea and coffee, and Bing had crawled off his chest and was now playing with Dom.

"No, you cheated, fair and square!" George announced.

"I didn't! That's how you play the game!"

"No, you have to roll a 'six' to get that player out. You can't get it out without a 'six'."

"Where does it say that?"

"In the instructions. Learn to read, woman!"

"It doesn't say that!"

"It _does_." Matt sighed.

"Are you two arguing over a silly little game?" he asked drowsily. Kurt and Ryder both looked up at him with relief plastered across their faces.

"She was in the wrong! Someone has to teach her some discipline!" George cried.

"Oh really? Teach _me_ some discipline? I'm polite enough, aren't I?" she counteracted. "Do you know how hard I worked for today?"

"Yeah, and do _you_ know how hard it is for me to sit in a room with you?"

"I won't have this in my house, George."

"I don't want to be here! It's only because Matthew insisted."

"You said you would behave!" Matt exclaimed. "Why can't you just get along, for Christ's sakes?"

"Because we're divorced!" The silence in the room was eerie after his yell, and Dom could almost hear echoes bounce off the walls. Kate walked in balancing a tray of drinks and almost walked back out again. "Matthew, you forced me into this. I didn't want to be here."

"Dad, I didn't-"

"Yes. You did. You think I want to spend Christmas with the woman I left twenty years ago? No!"

"Dad, you didn't _have _ to do it-"

"Yes. You made me."

"I told you that if you wanted to be here for your grandson's first Christmas then this was where it was happening. Mum invited me over and was courteous enough to let you in too."

"_Courteous? _ Are you _insane_, boy? You haven't changed at all, have you? You were always acting stupid when you were young. Lucky for you, your silly band got somewhere, otherwise you would've been left painting walls or some other shit job like that."

"'Silly band?' Is that all you think it was? If I remember rightly, you helped us out. You were around. When did that change, hmm? It obviously wasn't just a silly band. Look where we are now, Dad! Look where we are! What happened to _your_ band? You've gone in the opposite direction. Your band just went down and you got your _own_ shit job down here in this misery of a place! I don't think you're one to criticise me."

"You're still the same little boy you were twenty years ago! You're no better than a naive little teenager. You think you're a father know and you know everything. You think you've experienced the world. You think you're right, but you're wrong." How did they even get to this point? They were taking out all of their anger on each other and it was spiralling out of control. Everybody else sat and watched silently.

"No. I'm right. You know what? I may still have fun with my friends, I may still muck around, act a bit immature sometimes, but I _can _handle this. I know what I'm doing and I don't need _you_ of all people to tell me what to do anymore. I won't have it."

"Who do you think you are telling me what to do?"

"A man blaming you for ruining this! Why couldn't you just pretend? Is it so hard to sit quietly, wish someone a Merry Christmas? God, I pretend all the time! But no, you had to go and be your annoying sarcastic self. Well, congratulations, Dad. No I'm pissed off and everybody else is upset. Look what you did to Mum!" He gestured to Marylin who was weeping softly in the corner.

"She deserves it! She was in the wrong!" Matt's fists curled up.

"You. Bastard. It was a _game_. A game! Why are we getting so worked up over a little game?"

"It's not just the game, Matthew. It's Marylin in general! Everything about this day has been annoying. I have to sit in here and eat her food. I have to watch you all playing cheesy games. I have to talk politely. Not anymore." Matt shook his head, disgusted.

"I can't believe I even bothered. I can't believe this." He turned around and looked at Kate. "Come on, we're leaving."

"O-Okay," she stammered out, never having seen Matt so angry before. She patted Ryder on the head and took him out into the hallway to get their coats.

"No, don't go!" Marylin exclaimed. "Please, stay for your tea! You can't leave now!"

"I'm sorry, Mum," Matt explained. "I'm not staying here. I'm going to spend the rest of Christmas in the right atmosphere. I'm sorry your day was ruined." He picked up Bing and set him in his carrier. Before wrapping the blankets tightly around him and fitting his hat on his little head. He took him out into the hallway and shrugged on his own coat. Ryder had his arms full with presents and he and Kate watched Matthew sadly. Ryder was quite confused by the whole occurrence and Kate was just miserable.

"Merry Christmas to those that care," Matt called out. "Thanks for dinner, Mum, I'll call you soon." He opened the front door and led Kate and Ryder out before stepping out himself. There were a few paparazzi photographers lurking around, and Matt had had enough. He turned towards them and flipped them the finger, resisting the urge to scream profanities because there were young children present. He'd show his father how to be a respectable adult. He _could_ be relied upon. He _could_ look after himself and his family.

He opened the car door and let Ryder in the back, belting Bing's seat into place securely before getting in the driver's seat himself. When Kate was buckled in, he pulled out of the drive and pulled out of that boring village as quickly as he could.

After about ten miles he'd calmed down slightly. The only noise came from the sound of the engine. Matt cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry," he whispered softly. Kate gave him a wary smile.

"It's not your fault," Kate told him. But he couldn't stop thinking about the way he'd just left. He shouldn't have left like that. His mother was upset, his father was incensed and Goldie and Kurt...he couldn't even imagine what was going on with them right now. Hopefully he'd call Dom or something later and maybe, just maybe, they might accept his apology.

"Yes it is. I could've just agreed with him. I didn't have to go and blow it all out of proportion."

"I...I know this will sound weird, but I kind of liked it." He gave her an are-you-deranged? look before facing the road again. "I mean, seeing you all passionate like that. I don't mean that I like it when you're angry and things are going wrong, I just...I don't know. You're strong, Matt. That's a really good quality about you." She placed her hand on his knee and he rubbed it with his own free hand. "I think you make a great father."

"Really?" She nodded and he smiled at her, his eyes crinkling up. "Awwwwwwww. I love you, Kate."

"I love you more." She giggled and Matt chuckled as Ryder made a fake gagging noise from behind.

"Oi, shorty, where do you want to go?"

"Uhhh...can we go to the park?" he suggested.

"The park?" Kate repeated. "In winter?"

"Yeah! We can fly kites!" Matt cocked his head to the side.

"Sounds like fun to me," he agreed. "The park it is."


End file.
